1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to articles of footwear, more particularly shoes and boots of the "casual" type.
2. The Prior Art
There has been increasing demand in recent years for casual footwear of "moccasin" construction, that is, having a leather upper with part of the leather extending under the foot so that the upper is wrapped around the foot like a glove. In commercially-produced footwear, the upper has generally been secured to a sole. However, it has not been general practice to produce a shoe in which the leather of the upper extended under the foot for the whole of its length. Instead, in the region of the heel and instep the upper has been turned in only marginally and the gap has been filled by an insole which has generally been made of fibre board or other relatively stiff and inflexible material.
It has been necessary to make the insole of stiff and inflexible material because an insole of soft flexible material would tend to ruck when the upper is being closed on a last.
Proposals have been made for manufacturing moccasin-type shoes with a soft leather sole extending under the whole of the foot and a hard outer sole attached thereto in order to make the shoe suitable for outdoor wear. Such proposals are exemplified in British Pat. Nos. 1,134,369 and 1,240,452. However in these proposals the counter at the heel of the shoe has been formed by seaming the rear edges of side portions of the sole.